AMA in the News: December 2022

AMA in the News covers media coverage and mentions about the American Medical Association. Find articles recognizing our efforts in health care, advocacy, medical education and improvements in public health. Read coverage on the achievements of our leadership and the members of the AMA community.

1. America's doctors offer up healthy resolutions for 2023

   1. U.S. News and World Report, Dec. 30, 2022
   2. “Many people kick off the start of each new year with big-picture health resolutions— ambitious, immediate lifestyle changes that are very difficult to maintain,” AMA president Jack Resneck Jr., MD, said in an association news release. “The good news is that small, positive health choices made right now can have long-lasting effects.”

2. Medicaid got a lot of attention in the year-end spending bill

   1. The Washington Post, Dec. 20, 2022
   2. Even before the text was official, the American Medical Association was out with a blistering statement. The major physician’s lobby said it was “extremely disappointed and dismayed” that Congress didn’t fully stop the Medicare cuts to their reimbursement from going into effect. (Publication subscription is required for full/unlimited access).

3. Medicare pay cuts will hurt seniors’ care, doctors argue

   1. Kaiser Health News, Dec. 20, 2022
   2. According to the American Medical Association (PDF), the costs of running a medical practice climbed 39% from 2001 to 2021, but Medicare payments to doctors, adjusted for inflation, dropped by 20% over that span.

4. Want to stick to your healthy New Year's resolutions for a change? Try these 10 expert tips

   1. USA Today, Dec. 20, 2022
   2. The American Medical Association has recommendations for making health improvements in 2023 and beyond, ones the association says are realistic and within reach.

5. AMA, medical societies decry pending Medicare cuts

   1. Healthcare Finance, Dec. 12, 2022.
   2. In a letter to congressional leaders, the American Medical Association and every state medical society are telling Congress that any cut to Medicare payments will "undermine Medicare's ability to deliver on its promises to seniors."

6. No, court shouldn’t order ivermectin to treat COVID-19, AMA says

   1. Chief Healthcare Executive, Dec. 9, 2022
   2. The American Medical Association has filed a brief in a case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. At issue: whether a hospital should be required to use ivermectin, even as leading health experts advise against it.

7. New campaign urges Americans to get their flu shots as cases surge

   1. CBS, Dec. 8, 2022
   2. The CDC and American Medical Association are kicking off a flu awareness campaign Wednesday. American Medical Association Board of Trustees chair-elect Willie Underwood III, MD, MSc, MPH, joined us to discuss the Get My Flu Shot campaign.  

8. Health care associations urge Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule against court-ordered ivermectin for COVID-19

   1. Wisconsin Public Radio, Dec. 8, 2022
   2. The American Medical Association and Wisconsin Medical Society filed the amicus brief (PDF) Wednesday. It argues ivermectin hasn't been proven effective in treating the disease.

9. Flu hospitalizations soar as triple viral threat looms ahead of holidays

   1. The Washington Post, Dec. 6, 2022
   2. “It’s a perfect storm for a terrible holiday season,” said the chair of the American Medical  Association board, Sandra Fryhofer, MD, an Atlanta infectious-diseases physician who joined a Monday briefing by the CDC.

10. Looming physician pay cut 'unprecedented' and 'unconscionable,' AMA president , says

    1. MedPage Today, Dec. 5, 2022
    2. "Things are different this year," Jack Resneck Jr., MD, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), told MedPage Today during a phone call in which a public relations person was present. To impose cuts at this time, "3 years into a pandemic ... and with burnout rates soaring from about 38% in 2020 to 63% in 2021, and one in five physicians saying they're going to retire or do something else in the next 2 years" is, he noted, "unconscionable." (Publication subscription is required for full/unlimited access).

11. AMA, 7 other provider organizations file brief supporting ACA preventive care requirements

    1. Becker’s Payer Issues, Dec. 2, 2022
    2. The American Medical Association and seven other physician groups filed an amicus brief supporting the ACA's preventive care requirements in a case in Texas court challenging the law. 

12. Physician groups defend Affordable Care Act's no-cost preventive services

    1. HealthLeaders, Dec. 2, 2022
    2. The American Medical Association and seven other physician groups argue "no-cost preventive care saves lives, saves money, improves health outcomes, and enables healthier lifestyles."